The 2011 US Chess League season kicked off last Monday and
teams picked up right where they left off last year in terms of excitement.
Week 1 featured some highly anticipated matches, starting with the Boston Blitz
taking on the New England Nor'easters, the 2010 Champions, in a rematch of last
year's Eastern Semifinal, which New England won due to draw odds. This time the
Blitz got their revenge, winning 2.5-1.5, thanks to a great victory by SM Jorge
Sammour-Hasbun over IM Robert Hungaski. This was New England's first ever loss, after a record
breaking season last year, and they were probably missing their star player, GM
Sam Shankland, who was busy tearing it up in Khanty-Mansisk. The New York Knights defeated the Baltimore Kingfishers by
a score of 2.5-1.5, mainly due to GM Giorgi Kacheishvili's dominant showing
over GM Giorgi Margvelashvili, who was making his USCL debut.

The Carolina Cobras beat the New Jersey Knockouts, also by
the popular score of 2.5-1.5, and the Manhattan Applesauce drew with the
Philadelphia Inventors, which featured a very fine win by Manhattan's IM Lev
Milman over league superstar GM Sergey Erenburg, making his Philadelphia debut.

In the Western Division, the Chicago Blaze crushed the
Seattle Sluggers, 3.5-0.5, thanks to a clean win by IM Florin Felecan over FM
Costin Cozianu. The San Francisco Mechanics defeated the Saint Louis
Archbishops, 2.5-1.5 with wins by IM Daniel Naroditsky and IM David Pruess over
FM Joaquin Banawa and FM Doug Eckert.

Meanwhile the Arizona Scorpions cruised to a 2.5-1.5
victory of their own over last year's Western Division champs, the Miami
Sharks. IM Levon Altounian and FM Robby Adamson scored the key wins over FM
Eric Rodriguez and NM Alberto Hernandez in that encounter.

Last but not least, the Los Angeles Vibe drew with the
favored Dallas Destiny, thanks to a heroic win by IM Conrad Holt over FM Joel
Banawa, which leads us to our first highlight:

A very up-and-down game with some amazing tactical ability
displayed from both sides. IM Holt was able to steal this one away at the end
and save his team from a loss, a great effort!Week 1 Upset Prize

The weekly upset prize sponsored by
Endgame Clothing, is given to the best upset win each week. This week the prize
went to Anna Matlin, for her 223 point upset over NM Craig Jones. Winner: Anna Matlin (NJ) - Craig Jones (CAR) 1-0A very smooth win from Matlin, who will definitely by
seeking more than one upset prize this year.The rest of the highlights are going to be handpicked by
yours truly, and will vary from week to week:Most Exciting MatchLos Angeles Vibe vs. Dallas Destiny 2-2 (tie)

Although this match was naturally more exciting to me
since I'm a member of the Vibe and was at the site watching them play live. The
four games (see Holt-Banawa above) in this match were filled with creativity, imagination, and hanging
pieces. There were so many hanging pieces!

Eye-Catching OpeningIf I notice a strong novelty or interesting opening play,
you'll see it here.

GM Julio Becerra (MIA) - IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1/2-1/21.c4 c5
2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 Here we have a symmetrical english, nothing special
yet... 5.a3 e6 6.b4!?At first
I thought GM Becerra had just blundered a pawn on move 6, but after checking
the database I found that other players such as Smyslov, Ivanchuk, and Gashimov
had also "blundered" the same pawn 6...Nxb4 (6...cxb4 7.axb4
Nxb4 is absolutely the wrong way to accept the pawn as 8.Ba3 Nc6 9.Nb5 is
crushing for White; 6...d6 is the most theoretical continuation, where most
games have continued 7.Rb1 Nge7 8.Nf3 0-0 9.0-0 b6 10.Qc2 Bb7 0-1 Ivanchuk,V
(2779)-Aronian,L2011) 7.axb4 cxb4
8.Bb2!? This move has only been played once before, more common is (8.d4
bxc3 9.e3 Ne7 10.Ne2 d5 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Ba3 with a very unclear position as
there have been mixed results from this point) 8...bxc3 9.Bxc3 Bxc3 10.dxc3
Qc7 11.Qd4N e5 12.Qe3 d6 13.Nf3 Ne7 14.0-0 0-0Now Black
is a healthy pawn up, and IM Molner could not have played more naturally to get
to this point, which makes me quite skeptical of the future of 8. Bb2. The game
later ended in a very messy draw where it seems like Black had missed some
opportunites for a decisive advantage.Best MoveThis category will feature one fantastic tactical shot
each week.GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) - GM Dmitry Gurevich (CHC)
1/2-1/2